📰 Slonfeh Investments: From Property Transfers to Forced Evictions of Kiosk Operators

Following the fall of the Assad regime, and as part of what is now being described as a redistribution of investments in tourist areas, syria/" class="auto-internal-link">syria’s Ministry of Tourism plans to transfer ownership of multiple tourism-related properties belonging to the Slonfeh Municipality to its central administration. Moreover, a “study office” affiliated with central authorities in damascus-university-staff-protest-after-armed-attack-on-faculty-dean/" class="smart-internal-link" title="📰 Damascus University staff protest after armed attack on faculty dean">Damascus has been set up within the municipality to catalogue these leased properties and assess the feasibility of transferring them to the Ministry. as per local sources cited by Ultra Syria, these assets include multiple investments such as the Al-Rabiya Restaurant, the Al-Helween Rest Stop, and the Park Plaza Slonfeh Hotel—the latter of which was symbolically inaugurated for media publicity before being closed again the very next day. Slonfeh Mayor Ammar Baddour rejected in comments to Ultra Syria that the municipality’s properties had been transferred to the Ministry of Tourism or the Directorate of Investment.

However, he verified that the municipality is studying potential emerging investment opportunities aimed at increasing local revenue. emerging Projects and the Eviction of Old Ones At the same time, new investments have been awarded, such as the Slonfeh Park project, which was granted to a figure affiliated with a security agency from the city of al-Haffeh. Meanwhile, kiosk operators along the Ain al-Bayda village corniche—part of Slonfeh’s jurisdiction and known for its pie stalls—are facing forced evictions and the loss of their livelihoods. Huda, a pie-seller who preferred to use a pseudonym when speaking to Ultra Syria, stated: “The Slonfeh Municipality informed us we must vacate and dismantle our kiosks by the end of the tourist season, claiming that the Ain al-Bayda corniche will undergo reorganization and that its management will be transferred from the municipality to the Lattakia Tourism Directorate.

Moreover, ” She explained that these kiosks had long provided livelihoods for hundreds of families relying on seasonal and holiday sales, but now they face closure and economic ruin. “We pay annual investment fees to the municipality and operate during the summer and occasionally in winter,” she stated, adding that “what’s happening is manipulation of kiosk investment contracts and other tourism facilities in favor of new investors. Notably, ” Several kiosk operators informed Ultra Syria that they have been working in the same locations for numerous years under valid municipal contracts. Some noted that the post-regime transition opened the door to exploitation and extortion, given the commercial activity these kiosks attract during the summer season.

Mayor…